I know it's been a while, but here' s the next chapter! Enjoy!
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Chibi-Usa ran blindly down the corridors of the Saiya-Jin palace, her face stained with tears. She had risked the anger and worry of her parents, made Diana lie, and deceived Luna and Artemis in the process of coming to Vegeta-sei to see Trunks, and now, everything was ruined. Chibi-Usa leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor with her face buried in her knees.
"Trunks…," she sobbed bitterly. After all she had gone through, it seemed nothing would work. She sat there, alone, for what seemed like an eternity until she felt a familiar presence stop in front of her.
"Are you okay?" asked Trunks.
Looking up at him was torture. There he was, showing compassion for her as she wept for him. 'Who knows what he'd do to me know if he knew the truth,' she thought.
The Saiya-Jin prince joined Chibi-Usa on the floor of the corridor.
"Was it the attack that upset you?" asked Trunks.
Chibi-Usa nodded. 'In a nutshell,' she thought to herself.
"Don't worry," said Trunks, "We'll track Princess Serenity down and make her pay for what she did."
Chibi-Usa tried not to burst into tears as Trunks tried his best to comfort her.
Trunks sighed.
"Are you alright," said Chibi-Usa, her broken jaw giving her less trouble.
Trunks looked steadily down at her.
"Let's just say that when Serenity attacked Vegeta-sei, I wasn't just upset that the planet was attacked, I was also upset that she was the one who did it, but it's complicated and I'm not sure if you'd understand," replied the prince.
'He has no idea how perfectly I do understand,' she thought darkly to herself.
Trunks punched his fist into the palm of his hand. Chibi-Usa could feel his power-level rising.
"This whole damn thing just makes me so mad," fumed the prince.
Chibi-Usa, using her anonymous status, decided to test some waters.
"What if it was some sort of misunderstanding?" asked Chibi-Usa.
Trunks looked at the pseudo-Saiya-Jin as if she had a third eye.
"A misunderstanding?" asked Trunks flatly.
"Um, yeah," said Chibi-Usa, slightly sweat-dropping as she blushed under his steady gaze, "Maybe Serenity was off somewhere else and somebody just pretended to be her?"
Trunks outright laughed.
"I have never seen anybody else in the universe with pink hair and red eyes. Furthermore, I have never seen anybody but Chibi-U… I mean Princess Serenity with hair like that or in a gown that matched the traditional one she wears. Besides that, the attacker used the Imperium Silver Crystal and used an attack based off of the power from that crystal and there is no way that anybody from Crystal Tokyo would be stupid enough to let an object that powerful mysteriously show up in the hands of an evil doer. No, it was the Princess alright. I've seen her act violently before, too, even towards her own people."
Chibi-Usa silently cursed the day that she had ripped up the palace garden.
"But, there's nothing I can do right now, so it's better not to just sit around and get angry. Father's gone to Crystal Tokyo with an envoy of troops to demand the princess be given into Saiya-Jin custody so she can be put on trial, and Mom's off leading the relief effort for the southern hemisphere so I'm forced to do palace duty. However, with half of the inhabitants preparing for war, there's not much business to attend to."
The lavender-haired youth looked down at Chibi-Usa.
"Would you like to start that training? We'll need all our warriors if Earth decides to take a course that leads to war, and you've shown yourself to have a lot of promise."
Trying to act naturally as her fate was cruelly pronounced and the possibility of war against her home was casually discussed, Chibi-Usa silently nodded. At least she would get to be with Trunks for a little while longer before he found out the truth.
Trunks helped Chibi-Usa up and together they walked towards the gravity chamber to begin the disguised princess' training.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturn paced the deck of the Saiya-Jin flagship. Because she was still a member of Neo-Queen Serenity's court, King Vegeta had insisted that she accompany him to aid in the 'diplomacy' of the situation. Her plan had brought for a response more perfect than even she could have designed. Finally, Messiah of Silence would be rid of that bothersome Messiah of Light for good along with the only other person able to wield the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal. Feeling Chibi-Usa's pure little heart break as she watched her beloved basically sign her people's death warrant was a joy she would remember for all eternity. Mistress 9 smirked as she thought of the Saiya-Jin prince. Now that Chibi-Usa was basically out of the picture, there was nothing stopping her from claiming what was rightfully hers. Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"How are you holding up, Saturn?" asked Goten.
"Well," replied Hotaru, feigning uncertainty, "I'm kind of nervous. I'm a protector of Neo-Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, and Crystal Tokyo, but I'm also a Saiya-Jin. I know Princess Serenity was in the wrong and if push comes to shove, I'll have to side with Vegeta-sei because they did nothing wrong, it's just…"
"You don't want to hurt your friends?" finished Goten.
"Yeah," replied Saturn glumly.
Goten walked over to Saturn and hugged her nervously, but then placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her very seriously.
"If you need anything, or even just somebody to talk to, you know I'll be here for you any time you need me," said Goten, blushing slightly.
Saturn smiled up at Goten.
"Thank you," she replied.
As Goten left Saturn to her own thoughts once again, the Messiah of Silence felt a small warmth in her chest. Mistress 9 frowned as she shook off the uncomfortable feeling. He was nothing in her plans, just another Saiya-Jin pawn to manipulate. However, the evil of Mistress 9's heart seemed uncertain for just a moment. She shook her head and focused on Chibi-Usa and Serenity. They would pay for defeating her in the past. The Messiah of Silence's musings were cut short again as the ship prepared to land. Hotaru smiled. It was the beginning of the end for both Sailor Moons.
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Sailor Uranus ran into the throne room of Crystal Tokyo.
"Serenity!" she exclaimed, interrupting the queen's current meeting. Suddenly, Pluto and Neptune burst through the doors behind Haruka followed by the rest of the senshi (minus Saturn).
Neo-Queen Serenity turned her eyes to her senshi with concern.
"What is going on?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
"The Saiya-Jin royal flagship is approaching the planet!" exclaimed Uranus.
Neo-Queen Serenity's face burst into a smile.
"This is wonderful! They've finally returned to visit! Somebody needs to get Chibi-Usa from the Moon so she can be here, too!"
"I don't think that's why the Saiya-Jins are here," said Pluto, stepping forward.
"What do you mean?" asked Serenity, slightly frowning.
"Not more than just the flagship is approaching," began Pluto, "Five other ships are following it, they are all identified as troop carriers."
"I don't understand," said Serenity, sitting down heavily on her throne.
"Your majesty," said Neptune, "this means that the Saiya-Jin's aren't here for just a visit, they're here to discuss something very serious, something serious enough to bring force with them."
Neo-Queen Serenity straightened on her throne, she wouldn't allow herself to be less of a queen than her mother had taught her to be, she had to be strong, even if she was uncertain.
"Summon King Endymion and prepare to receive the royalty," said the queen, "We will be ready to receive whatever message they have to bring us."
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Chibi-Usa had never felt so drained of energy in her entire life. Just one training session with Trunks was more intense that all of the training sessions she had had with the senshi combined. Even thought she felt utterly exhausted, she was excited and eager to learn more. Trunks smiled at his pupil.
"I trust that you enjoyed this training session more than the one you had before?"
Chibi-Usa laughed.
"You are a much better teacher than that horrible man, even if you do hit harder," said Chibi-Usa as she rubbed the bruise on her face.
"Sorry about that," said Trunks, "but bruises are necessary if you want to learn how to fight. Half of beating someone is being able to take the blows they give you."
Chibi-Usa nodded.
"I just wish I could learn faster," she said eagerly, "At this rate, it will take years before I'm powerful enough to take on anyone."
Trunks smiled. "Spoken like a true Saiya-Jin, your first day of fighting and you're already thinking about when you can beat somebody up."
Chibi-Usa laughed nervously. 'True Saiya-Jin, riiight,' she thought.
"I know this is a little unethical, and definitely against palace rules, but I might be able to take us to a place that would allow your training to go faster."
"Really!" said Chibi-Usa with excitement as she looked at up at Trunks, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Trunks smiled wistfully as he looked Selene full in the face for the first time. Those eyes… She reminded him so much of Chibi-Usa… Well, Chibi-Usa before she had revealed her true colors…Trunks shook the thought from his head.
"My mother brought engineers from earth to build this time chamber that allows you to get a year's worth of training in a day. It's supposed to be used only for emergencies, but I think my Father's used it on a few occasions without telling anyone. I'm sure with the place in an uproar like this, we'd be able to sneak in."
"That sounds wonderful, Prince Trunks!" exclaimed the red-eyed girl.
"Okay, we can do it on one condition," said the Saiya-Jin prince.
"Anything," replied Chibi-Usa.
"Don't call me 'Prince Trunks, okay, Selene?" he asked, "It sounds so formal. Just plain Trunks will do fine."
"Alright," replied Chibi-Usa. 'If you'll call me Chibi-Usa,' she thought sadly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Vegeta wasted no time on greetings when the ship landed. As soon as the ship touched the ground, all troops were mobilized. Half were placed as guards around the ships while the other half, along with Saturn and Goten, accompanied Vegeta as he stormed into the palace room.
Vegeta noted with some satisfaction that the palace guards gave him no trouble as he brazenly marched down the halls of the palace with his entourage. Finally, he reached the throne room. It was finally time to set things straight and extract Vegeta-sei's revenge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neo-Queen Serenity sat fully composed on her throne as the Saiya-Jin king burst through the door with two dozen troops flanking him. She nodded politely to Goten and Saturn as they entered before she stood and acknowledged the Saiya-Jin king.
"King Vegeta," began Serenity, "to what do I owe this sudden visit?"
Vegeta scowled at the queen.
"Don't play dumb with me, Serenity," growled Vegeta, "You know perfectly well why I am here."
Neo-Queen Serenity spoke calmly to the angry king.
"If I knew what was going on, rest assured that I would be more than willing to discuss it," she replied gracefully.
"Saturn," snapped Vegeta, "you have psychic abilities, do you not?"
"Some, my king," replied the purple haired girl. Neo-Queen silently noted that Hotaru was dressed in Saiya-Jin armor rather than her senshi uniform.
"If you can, kindly project what we saw the day Vegeta-sei was attacked," commanded Vegeta in a sarcastic tone.
Saturn closed her eyes and began to glow faintly purple. As images of Chibi-Usa attacking Vegeta-sei flooded her mind, Neo-Queen Serenity gasped as did the other senshi.
Trying to regain her composure, Neo-Queen Serenity cleared her throat.
"My daughter has been on the Moon for the past few weeks, King Vegeta, she hasn't been anywhere near Vegeta-sei, I have trusted aides that could vouch for that."
Vegeta sneered.
"Of course your own citizens would have an alibi for her. I know what I saw that day and I don't intend to sit around and listen to you try to make excuses for your cowardly daughter. We demand that Princess Serenity be handed into our custody at once so the proper punishment can be administered," said Vegeta.
Neo-Queen Serenity's eyes flashed.
"There is no way that I will allow my daughter to be taken captive to another planet to receive punishment that she may not deserve," replied the queen, "Have you even looked into the facts?"
Vegeta glared at Neo-Queen Serenity.
"What facts are there to verify when my entire planet saw your brat burn an moon shaped hole into the entire southern hemisphere! I'm warning you, turn Serenity over or your entire planet will suffer."
"What are you implying, Vegeta," said Serenity coldly.
Vegeta smirked.
"I think you know full well what I mean, weakling."
"Vegeta!" boomed a voice that Vegeta most definitely didn't want to hear, "That's enough!"
Vegeta whirled around to face Son Goku.
"Don't stick your nose into what doesn't concern you, Kakarot," growled Vegeta, "You know what happened, even your brat, here saw it."
Goku frowned.
"Serenity's right, you can't just rush into something. You and I have seen stranger things than this happen, why can't you just postpone your revenge and make sure you have the real culprit," reasoned Goku.
Vegeta glared at Goku.
"I know what I saw, Kakarot, but if agreeing to talk about this ridiculous matter in a group will get you to keep your nose out of my business then let's do it. However, I demand to see Princess Serenity now. I am at least guaranteed the right to question the brat, am I not."
"Certainly," said Serenity, trying to suppress her anger, "I will have my daughter summoned from the Moon immediately."
Saturn silently cursed. Things would be delayed if they had to wait for Chibi-Usa to be discovered missing on the Moon and then located on Vegeta- sei. Saturn decided to take matters into her own hands. The pseudo-Saiya- Jin senshi grabbed her head and doubled over in front of the tense group. She screamed in 'pain.'
"Saturn!" cried Goten. He ran to her side, "What's wrong?"
"Chibi-Usa! No!" she moaned.
Serenity's eyes widened in fear.
"What is it, Hotaru?" she asked.
"It's such an evil presence!" she gasped "She's coming here!"
"See, I told you she was perfectly capable of attacking my planet, even her little friend and your senshi has felt her evil," sneered Vegeta.
Saturn clasped a hand over her heart.
"I'm sorry, but I feel weak, may I have your permission to withdraw to my quarters," asked Saturn, appearing to be in pain.
Serenity looked at Hotaru with sympathy filling her eyes.
"Of course you may," she said heavily. Not only was her daughter acting strangely, her kingdom on the brink of war, but now someone she cared about as much as Hotaru was ill. Neo-Queen Serenity felt overwhelmed.
Saturn bowed to Vegeta and Serenity and walked out of the doors. As she was out of sight she straightened and smirked at the people behind the closed doors. It was time to seal the fate of the meddlesome family of the Moon. Saturn once again began her transformation into Chibi-Usa, waited a few minutes and then burst open the door with a flash of light.
"I see the fools from Vegeta-sei have paid us a visit," said Chibi- Usa/Saturn, "How…nice."
Serenity's eyes narrowed at what seemed to be her daughter.
"Chibi-Usa!" Serenity reprimanded in a low voice, "That is no way to address anyone. We are here for a very serious matter. King Vegeta says that you attacked his planet, is this true?"
'This is too easy,' thought Mistress 9 with delight.
"Of course I did mother," replied Chibi-Usa/Saturn, she gave a slight pause as she allowed the room a collective gasp before she finished her sentence, "I don't understand why you're asking me if I did or not, of course I would obey your orders."
Serenity and the rest of the people in the throne room of the Crystal Palace stood silent in shock. All except for one person.
"So, that's what this little guise is about," growled Vegeta. "I am through with you all."
"There is not guise," said Serenity, "I most certainly did not order an attack on your planet!"
Vegeta smirked.
"Your lies will get you no where, Serenity, your daughter has let the truth slip a little too soon. The next time I see you and your brat, you can rest assured that neither one of you will survive the encounter."
Vegeta turned and signaled the rest of his troops to follow.
"Goten, go collect Saturn, tell her to return to Vegeta-sei, if she decided instead to remain here and fight as a senshi, kill her."
Goten, noticeably paling at this command gulped and went to find Saturn's room.
"Farewell, Neo-Queen and Princess Serenity, enjoy your time alive while you can," said Vegeta as he left the room.
Princess Serenity, the person of the hour, laughed.
"Well, I guess we all have work to do," she said. With another flash of light, the "princess" of Crystal Tokyo disappeared, leaving a deafening silence in the room after she left.
Mistress 9 laughed as she turned back into Hotaru and left to join the Saiya-Jins. The next time she was here, she would have her revenge. 'The end is near,' she thought, 'and this time, nothing will stop the Silence.'
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Well, I promise to update sooner this time. I do apologize for the late update, but school kind of pounced on me all at once. Let me know what you think, and again, my flame policy is e-mail me at katiejedi@yahoo.com if you have a complaint.
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Chibi-Usa ran blindly down the corridors of the Saiya-Jin palace, her face stained with tears. She had risked the anger and worry of her parents, made Diana lie, and deceived Luna and Artemis in the process of coming to Vegeta-sei to see Trunks, and now, everything was ruined. Chibi-Usa leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor with her face buried in her knees.
"Trunks…," she sobbed bitterly. After all she had gone through, it seemed nothing would work. She sat there, alone, for what seemed like an eternity until she felt a familiar presence stop in front of her.
"Are you okay?" asked Trunks.
Looking up at him was torture. There he was, showing compassion for her as she wept for him. 'Who knows what he'd do to me know if he knew the truth,' she thought.
The Saiya-Jin prince joined Chibi-Usa on the floor of the corridor.
"Was it the attack that upset you?" asked Trunks.
Chibi-Usa nodded. 'In a nutshell,' she thought to herself.
"Don't worry," said Trunks, "We'll track Princess Serenity down and make her pay for what she did."
Chibi-Usa tried not to burst into tears as Trunks tried his best to comfort her.
Trunks sighed.
"Are you alright," said Chibi-Usa, her broken jaw giving her less trouble.
Trunks looked steadily down at her.
"Let's just say that when Serenity attacked Vegeta-sei, I wasn't just upset that the planet was attacked, I was also upset that she was the one who did it, but it's complicated and I'm not sure if you'd understand," replied the prince.
'He has no idea how perfectly I do understand,' she thought darkly to herself.
Trunks punched his fist into the palm of his hand. Chibi-Usa could feel his power-level rising.
"This whole damn thing just makes me so mad," fumed the prince.
Chibi-Usa, using her anonymous status, decided to test some waters.
"What if it was some sort of misunderstanding?" asked Chibi-Usa.
Trunks looked at the pseudo-Saiya-Jin as if she had a third eye.
"A misunderstanding?" asked Trunks flatly.
"Um, yeah," said Chibi-Usa, slightly sweat-dropping as she blushed under his steady gaze, "Maybe Serenity was off somewhere else and somebody just pretended to be her?"
Trunks outright laughed.
"I have never seen anybody else in the universe with pink hair and red eyes. Furthermore, I have never seen anybody but Chibi-U… I mean Princess Serenity with hair like that or in a gown that matched the traditional one she wears. Besides that, the attacker used the Imperium Silver Crystal and used an attack based off of the power from that crystal and there is no way that anybody from Crystal Tokyo would be stupid enough to let an object that powerful mysteriously show up in the hands of an evil doer. No, it was the Princess alright. I've seen her act violently before, too, even towards her own people."
Chibi-Usa silently cursed the day that she had ripped up the palace garden.
"But, there's nothing I can do right now, so it's better not to just sit around and get angry. Father's gone to Crystal Tokyo with an envoy of troops to demand the princess be given into Saiya-Jin custody so she can be put on trial, and Mom's off leading the relief effort for the southern hemisphere so I'm forced to do palace duty. However, with half of the inhabitants preparing for war, there's not much business to attend to."
The lavender-haired youth looked down at Chibi-Usa.
"Would you like to start that training? We'll need all our warriors if Earth decides to take a course that leads to war, and you've shown yourself to have a lot of promise."
Trying to act naturally as her fate was cruelly pronounced and the possibility of war against her home was casually discussed, Chibi-Usa silently nodded. At least she would get to be with Trunks for a little while longer before he found out the truth.
Trunks helped Chibi-Usa up and together they walked towards the gravity chamber to begin the disguised princess' training.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturn paced the deck of the Saiya-Jin flagship. Because she was still a member of Neo-Queen Serenity's court, King Vegeta had insisted that she accompany him to aid in the 'diplomacy' of the situation. Her plan had brought for a response more perfect than even she could have designed. Finally, Messiah of Silence would be rid of that bothersome Messiah of Light for good along with the only other person able to wield the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal. Feeling Chibi-Usa's pure little heart break as she watched her beloved basically sign her people's death warrant was a joy she would remember for all eternity. Mistress 9 smirked as she thought of the Saiya-Jin prince. Now that Chibi-Usa was basically out of the picture, there was nothing stopping her from claiming what was rightfully hers. Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"How are you holding up, Saturn?" asked Goten.
"Well," replied Hotaru, feigning uncertainty, "I'm kind of nervous. I'm a protector of Neo-Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, and Crystal Tokyo, but I'm also a Saiya-Jin. I know Princess Serenity was in the wrong and if push comes to shove, I'll have to side with Vegeta-sei because they did nothing wrong, it's just…"
"You don't want to hurt your friends?" finished Goten.
"Yeah," replied Saturn glumly.
Goten walked over to Saturn and hugged her nervously, but then placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her very seriously.
"If you need anything, or even just somebody to talk to, you know I'll be here for you any time you need me," said Goten, blushing slightly.
Saturn smiled up at Goten.
"Thank you," she replied.
As Goten left Saturn to her own thoughts once again, the Messiah of Silence felt a small warmth in her chest. Mistress 9 frowned as she shook off the uncomfortable feeling. He was nothing in her plans, just another Saiya-Jin pawn to manipulate. However, the evil of Mistress 9's heart seemed uncertain for just a moment. She shook her head and focused on Chibi-Usa and Serenity. They would pay for defeating her in the past. The Messiah of Silence's musings were cut short again as the ship prepared to land. Hotaru smiled. It was the beginning of the end for both Sailor Moons.
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Sailor Uranus ran into the throne room of Crystal Tokyo.
"Serenity!" she exclaimed, interrupting the queen's current meeting. Suddenly, Pluto and Neptune burst through the doors behind Haruka followed by the rest of the senshi (minus Saturn).
Neo-Queen Serenity turned her eyes to her senshi with concern.
"What is going on?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
"The Saiya-Jin royal flagship is approaching the planet!" exclaimed Uranus.
Neo-Queen Serenity's face burst into a smile.
"This is wonderful! They've finally returned to visit! Somebody needs to get Chibi-Usa from the Moon so she can be here, too!"
"I don't think that's why the Saiya-Jins are here," said Pluto, stepping forward.
"What do you mean?" asked Serenity, slightly frowning.
"Not more than just the flagship is approaching," began Pluto, "Five other ships are following it, they are all identified as troop carriers."
"I don't understand," said Serenity, sitting down heavily on her throne.
"Your majesty," said Neptune, "this means that the Saiya-Jin's aren't here for just a visit, they're here to discuss something very serious, something serious enough to bring force with them."
Neo-Queen Serenity straightened on her throne, she wouldn't allow herself to be less of a queen than her mother had taught her to be, she had to be strong, even if she was uncertain.
"Summon King Endymion and prepare to receive the royalty," said the queen, "We will be ready to receive whatever message they have to bring us."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chibi-Usa had never felt so drained of energy in her entire life. Just one training session with Trunks was more intense that all of the training sessions she had had with the senshi combined. Even thought she felt utterly exhausted, she was excited and eager to learn more. Trunks smiled at his pupil.
"I trust that you enjoyed this training session more than the one you had before?"
Chibi-Usa laughed.
"You are a much better teacher than that horrible man, even if you do hit harder," said Chibi-Usa as she rubbed the bruise on her face.
"Sorry about that," said Trunks, "but bruises are necessary if you want to learn how to fight. Half of beating someone is being able to take the blows they give you."
Chibi-Usa nodded.
"I just wish I could learn faster," she said eagerly, "At this rate, it will take years before I'm powerful enough to take on anyone."
Trunks smiled. "Spoken like a true Saiya-Jin, your first day of fighting and you're already thinking about when you can beat somebody up."
Chibi-Usa laughed nervously. 'True Saiya-Jin, riiight,' she thought.
"I know this is a little unethical, and definitely against palace rules, but I might be able to take us to a place that would allow your training to go faster."
"Really!" said Chibi-Usa with excitement as she looked at up at Trunks, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Trunks smiled wistfully as he looked Selene full in the face for the first time. Those eyes… She reminded him so much of Chibi-Usa… Well, Chibi-Usa before she had revealed her true colors…Trunks shook the thought from his head.
"My mother brought engineers from earth to build this time chamber that allows you to get a year's worth of training in a day. It's supposed to be used only for emergencies, but I think my Father's used it on a few occasions without telling anyone. I'm sure with the place in an uproar like this, we'd be able to sneak in."
"That sounds wonderful, Prince Trunks!" exclaimed the red-eyed girl.
"Okay, we can do it on one condition," said the Saiya-Jin prince.
"Anything," replied Chibi-Usa.
"Don't call me 'Prince Trunks, okay, Selene?" he asked, "It sounds so formal. Just plain Trunks will do fine."
"Alright," replied Chibi-Usa. 'If you'll call me Chibi-Usa,' she thought sadly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Vegeta wasted no time on greetings when the ship landed. As soon as the ship touched the ground, all troops were mobilized. Half were placed as guards around the ships while the other half, along with Saturn and Goten, accompanied Vegeta as he stormed into the palace room.
Vegeta noted with some satisfaction that the palace guards gave him no trouble as he brazenly marched down the halls of the palace with his entourage. Finally, he reached the throne room. It was finally time to set things straight and extract Vegeta-sei's revenge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neo-Queen Serenity sat fully composed on her throne as the Saiya-Jin king burst through the door with two dozen troops flanking him. She nodded politely to Goten and Saturn as they entered before she stood and acknowledged the Saiya-Jin king.
"King Vegeta," began Serenity, "to what do I owe this sudden visit?"
Vegeta scowled at the queen.
"Don't play dumb with me, Serenity," growled Vegeta, "You know perfectly well why I am here."
Neo-Queen Serenity spoke calmly to the angry king.
"If I knew what was going on, rest assured that I would be more than willing to discuss it," she replied gracefully.
"Saturn," snapped Vegeta, "you have psychic abilities, do you not?"
"Some, my king," replied the purple haired girl. Neo-Queen silently noted that Hotaru was dressed in Saiya-Jin armor rather than her senshi uniform.
"If you can, kindly project what we saw the day Vegeta-sei was attacked," commanded Vegeta in a sarcastic tone.
Saturn closed her eyes and began to glow faintly purple. As images of Chibi-Usa attacking Vegeta-sei flooded her mind, Neo-Queen Serenity gasped as did the other senshi.
Trying to regain her composure, Neo-Queen Serenity cleared her throat.
"My daughter has been on the Moon for the past few weeks, King Vegeta, she hasn't been anywhere near Vegeta-sei, I have trusted aides that could vouch for that."
Vegeta sneered.
"Of course your own citizens would have an alibi for her. I know what I saw that day and I don't intend to sit around and listen to you try to make excuses for your cowardly daughter. We demand that Princess Serenity be handed into our custody at once so the proper punishment can be administered," said Vegeta.
Neo-Queen Serenity's eyes flashed.
"There is no way that I will allow my daughter to be taken captive to another planet to receive punishment that she may not deserve," replied the queen, "Have you even looked into the facts?"
Vegeta glared at Neo-Queen Serenity.
"What facts are there to verify when my entire planet saw your brat burn an moon shaped hole into the entire southern hemisphere! I'm warning you, turn Serenity over or your entire planet will suffer."
"What are you implying, Vegeta," said Serenity coldly.
Vegeta smirked.
"I think you know full well what I mean, weakling."
"Vegeta!" boomed a voice that Vegeta most definitely didn't want to hear, "That's enough!"
Vegeta whirled around to face Son Goku.
"Don't stick your nose into what doesn't concern you, Kakarot," growled Vegeta, "You know what happened, even your brat, here saw it."
Goku frowned.
"Serenity's right, you can't just rush into something. You and I have seen stranger things than this happen, why can't you just postpone your revenge and make sure you have the real culprit," reasoned Goku.
Vegeta glared at Goku.
"I know what I saw, Kakarot, but if agreeing to talk about this ridiculous matter in a group will get you to keep your nose out of my business then let's do it. However, I demand to see Princess Serenity now. I am at least guaranteed the right to question the brat, am I not."
"Certainly," said Serenity, trying to suppress her anger, "I will have my daughter summoned from the Moon immediately."
Saturn silently cursed. Things would be delayed if they had to wait for Chibi-Usa to be discovered missing on the Moon and then located on Vegeta- sei. Saturn decided to take matters into her own hands. The pseudo-Saiya- Jin senshi grabbed her head and doubled over in front of the tense group. She screamed in 'pain.'
"Saturn!" cried Goten. He ran to her side, "What's wrong?"
"Chibi-Usa! No!" she moaned.
Serenity's eyes widened in fear.
"What is it, Hotaru?" she asked.
"It's such an evil presence!" she gasped "She's coming here!"
"See, I told you she was perfectly capable of attacking my planet, even her little friend and your senshi has felt her evil," sneered Vegeta.
Saturn clasped a hand over her heart.
"I'm sorry, but I feel weak, may I have your permission to withdraw to my quarters," asked Saturn, appearing to be in pain.
Serenity looked at Hotaru with sympathy filling her eyes.
"Of course you may," she said heavily. Not only was her daughter acting strangely, her kingdom on the brink of war, but now someone she cared about as much as Hotaru was ill. Neo-Queen Serenity felt overwhelmed.
Saturn bowed to Vegeta and Serenity and walked out of the doors. As she was out of sight she straightened and smirked at the people behind the closed doors. It was time to seal the fate of the meddlesome family of the Moon. Saturn once again began her transformation into Chibi-Usa, waited a few minutes and then burst open the door with a flash of light.
"I see the fools from Vegeta-sei have paid us a visit," said Chibi- Usa/Saturn, "How…nice."
Serenity's eyes narrowed at what seemed to be her daughter.
"Chibi-Usa!" Serenity reprimanded in a low voice, "That is no way to address anyone. We are here for a very serious matter. King Vegeta says that you attacked his planet, is this true?"
'This is too easy,' thought Mistress 9 with delight.
"Of course I did mother," replied Chibi-Usa/Saturn, she gave a slight pause as she allowed the room a collective gasp before she finished her sentence, "I don't understand why you're asking me if I did or not, of course I would obey your orders."
Serenity and the rest of the people in the throne room of the Crystal Palace stood silent in shock. All except for one person.
"So, that's what this little guise is about," growled Vegeta. "I am through with you all."
"There is not guise," said Serenity, "I most certainly did not order an attack on your planet!"
Vegeta smirked.
"Your lies will get you no where, Serenity, your daughter has let the truth slip a little too soon. The next time I see you and your brat, you can rest assured that neither one of you will survive the encounter."
Vegeta turned and signaled the rest of his troops to follow.
"Goten, go collect Saturn, tell her to return to Vegeta-sei, if she decided instead to remain here and fight as a senshi, kill her."
Goten, noticeably paling at this command gulped and went to find Saturn's room.
"Farewell, Neo-Queen and Princess Serenity, enjoy your time alive while you can," said Vegeta as he left the room.
Princess Serenity, the person of the hour, laughed.
"Well, I guess we all have work to do," she said. With another flash of light, the "princess" of Crystal Tokyo disappeared, leaving a deafening silence in the room after she left.
Mistress 9 laughed as she turned back into Hotaru and left to join the Saiya-Jins. The next time she was here, she would have her revenge. 'The end is near,' she thought, 'and this time, nothing will stop the Silence.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, I promise to update sooner this time. I do apologize for the late update, but school kind of pounced on me all at once. Let me know what you think, and again, my flame policy is e-mail me at katiejedi@yahoo.com if you have a complaint.